City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

June 2, 2011

A Miscellany

Electing EC Members
Is electing an ethics commission a good idea? I had never heard of an elected EC until this week, when I read that the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, an Indian nation in Kansas, canceled an EC election for four out of six seats, because there were no candidates.

June 1, 2011

Florida Legislature Drops the Ethics Ball

At the very end of last year, a grand jury filed a report that found a great deal of corruption in Florida's state and local governments, and made numerous recommendations for ethics reform (see my blog post on the report). This provided the perfect opportunity for improving ethics programs across the state.

May 31, 2011

The Dallas Council Facilitates Pay to Play In Secret Based on Questionable Legal Advice

As discussed in an earlier blog post, eighteen months ago the Dallas council, under the prodding of the mayor at the time, passed some ethics reforms. According to a Dallas News editorial last month, only six months later the council backed off reporting requirements for gifts they receive, creating a number of exceptions.

Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play May 29, 2011

In NJ, Large Campaign Contributors Have a Conflicted Relationship

Good news: Westminster is not alone. No, I am not referring to the British Parliament or the New York dog show. I am referring to the Westminster, CO law that says that a campaign contributor has a relationship with the recipient of a sizeable campaign contribution that gives rise to a conflict of interest and requires the recipient's withdrawal from participation in any matter involving the contributor (see my blog post on what I call the Westminster Approach).

Local Government Practice May 28, 2011

The Obligations of a County Administrator on the Way Out After a Scandal

As if Florida hasn't had enough scandals lately, there is now a mess in Sarasota County, on Florida's Gulf Coast. The focus is on terrible procurement policies and procedures that apparently allowed a lot of unethical behavior to occur. But as is usually the case, the center of the problem appears to have been the adminstration's attitude. And that attitude seems to have come out in the negotiations over the county administrator's severance package.

An Environment of Intimidation and No-Bid Contracts

Local Government Practice May 26, 2011

Is Courtesy Professional?

Update: November 1, 2011 (see below)

Resources & Learning May 26, 2011

Giving Voice to Values II

This is the second half of my look at Mary C. Gentile's 2010 book, Giving Voice to Values.

Naming and Framing

Resources & Learning May 25, 2011

Giving Voice to Values I

The failure to deal responsibly with conflicts of interest has many causes, but the principal cause is the silence of those who are not directly responsible. I've written several times about some of the reasons for this silence: fear, justifications, lack of moral courage, and a lack of a feeling of professional obligation.

Ethics Codes & Reform May 21, 2011

Problems with Reasonable Perception Language and Enforcement of General Policies

Last August, I wrote a blog post about the mayor of Tulsa accepting free legal services from an attorney who represented Tulsa in certain matters, that is, from a city contractor. The matter involved the council possibly filing charges against the mayor for allegedly lying about a federal police grant.

May 20, 2011

A Miscellany

Waiving the Privilege and The Extent of Withdrawal
According to an article in yesterday's Business Journal Daily, the Ohio Ethics Commission, which has jurisdiction over local government ethics, is investigating the Western Reserve Port Authority's lease of property at the local airport near Youngstown. Two controversies have arisen from this investigation that should be of interest to government ethics professionals.

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